WASTEWATER TREATMENT

Our
activities in the wastewater field are directed at developing cost
effective and reliable solutions to your wastewater problems. This
can take the form of optimizing existing treatment systems or
developing new treatment techniques for specific wastes. One recent
project was to upgrade a large biological treatment system to handle
a raw waste with a high BOD (> 10,000 mg/l BOD). Another recent
project was assisting an industry with a small physical-chemical
pretreatment plant to increase the reliability of the system so that
“disturbances” were not seen in the local municipal system.

Major
activities in the wastewater field include:

Preparation
of construction permit applications;

Design
of wastewater treatment systems;

Assistance
with NPDES;

Preparation
of land application permits;

Evaluating
sludge handling options; and

Treatability
studies for wastewater;

Recently,
we have recommended the use of high rate anaerobic treatment for high
BOD wastewater. This treatment process has a small footprint and can
be used for concentrated waste streams. Operating costs of a high
rate anaerobic system are typically less than $0.08 per pound of BOD
removed. This favorable operating cost is primarily due to the LOW
ENERGY requirements and MINIMAL SLUDGE PRODUCTION of an anaerobic
system By comparison, aerobic systems can cost more than twice as
much to operate. Anaerobic systems are widely used in Europe and are
beginning to be used more frequently in this country.